David Schmidbauer
Retired Screen Name
The below was taken from todays paper. Trying to run down a address/phone # for the school but have been unsuccessfull. If anyone can help....
I, and other friends, think that this is a raffle we want to support.
Friday, November 19, 1999
Gun advocates demonstrate support for school raffle
A private school in Halifax County sells more raffle tickets than expected, probably because of criticism.
By MELINDA DESLATTE, The Associated Press
Criticism by school safety advocates of a private school's gun raffle has evoked a surprising backlash from gun advocates, who are buying tickets by the hundreds to show their support for the raffle.
Five hunting rifles and shotguns are being raffled Dec. 6-10 by Hobgood Academy in Halifax County. Coming in the wake of the Columbine massacre in Littleton, Colo., and other school shootings, the raffle drew media attention as well as criticism by school safety advocates.
Unexpectedly, buyers surfaced from all over saying they wanted to register their disapproval of anti-gun groups by purchasing the $10 tickets. Many said they learned of the raffle from Internet news groups and newspaper articles, said headmaster John Hardison.
"The interest we've received from people from other states and all over the U.S., we weren't expecting it," he said. "We weren't even thinking this was newsworthy."
Hardison said the school, a kindergarten through 12th-grade campus that has operated for 30 years, is still tabulating the raffle tickets it has sold. The number has reached into the hundreds, with more expected, far surpassing anticipated sales.
"I'm sure we're getting this interest because of the publicity," Hardison said. "The response we've had has been overwhelmingly positive."
Word of the raffle reached Fred Bonner, a syndicated columnist and editor of Carolina Adventure, a Raleigh hunting, fishing and boating publication, a couple of weeks ago.
He posted information about the gun raffle to a few Internet gun advocate news groups and e-mailed it to hunting friends across the country to generate interest.
"My phone at home has been coming off the wall for days [after the e-mails were sent]," he said. "It's unbelievable the response to this thing."
Bonner said he has no affiliation with Hobgood Academy, but wanted to support the raffle because he thought it was a good way to raise money for the school. The academy plans to use money from the raffle to buy new equipment for the Future Farmers of America group of high school students.
Hardison said the controversy caught him off guard.
"In the fall in Eastern North Carolina with the hunting and all, we thought it was just a marketable idea to raise money for the FFA," he said. "We don't allow guns in the school, only adults can win the raffle and they have to be approved."
Adults on the FFA advisory board picked the prizes, and the school bought the guns from a reputable dealer, said Hardison. He said winners must undergo background checks and meet other legal requirements.
Lisa Price, executive director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, said the school is the wrong venue for a gun raffle after the deadly school shootings.
"Given recent massacres in schools, I thought it would be really inappropriate for a school to be holding a gun raffle," she said. "I realize this is a rural community, and there's a lot of hunting, but it's still a school."
Price said she won't try stopping the raffle.
"We're not insensitive to gun violence; we're a school, too," Hardison said. "I don't understand what all the commotion is for. We weren't looking for this publicity."
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Schmit, GySgt, USMC(Ret)
NRA Life, Lodge 1201-UOSSS
"Si vis Pacem Para Bellum"
I, and other friends, think that this is a raffle we want to support.
Friday, November 19, 1999
Gun advocates demonstrate support for school raffle
A private school in Halifax County sells more raffle tickets than expected, probably because of criticism.
By MELINDA DESLATTE, The Associated Press
Criticism by school safety advocates of a private school's gun raffle has evoked a surprising backlash from gun advocates, who are buying tickets by the hundreds to show their support for the raffle.
Five hunting rifles and shotguns are being raffled Dec. 6-10 by Hobgood Academy in Halifax County. Coming in the wake of the Columbine massacre in Littleton, Colo., and other school shootings, the raffle drew media attention as well as criticism by school safety advocates.
Unexpectedly, buyers surfaced from all over saying they wanted to register their disapproval of anti-gun groups by purchasing the $10 tickets. Many said they learned of the raffle from Internet news groups and newspaper articles, said headmaster John Hardison.
"The interest we've received from people from other states and all over the U.S., we weren't expecting it," he said. "We weren't even thinking this was newsworthy."
Hardison said the school, a kindergarten through 12th-grade campus that has operated for 30 years, is still tabulating the raffle tickets it has sold. The number has reached into the hundreds, with more expected, far surpassing anticipated sales.
"I'm sure we're getting this interest because of the publicity," Hardison said. "The response we've had has been overwhelmingly positive."
Word of the raffle reached Fred Bonner, a syndicated columnist and editor of Carolina Adventure, a Raleigh hunting, fishing and boating publication, a couple of weeks ago.
He posted information about the gun raffle to a few Internet gun advocate news groups and e-mailed it to hunting friends across the country to generate interest.
"My phone at home has been coming off the wall for days [after the e-mails were sent]," he said. "It's unbelievable the response to this thing."
Bonner said he has no affiliation with Hobgood Academy, but wanted to support the raffle because he thought it was a good way to raise money for the school. The academy plans to use money from the raffle to buy new equipment for the Future Farmers of America group of high school students.
Hardison said the controversy caught him off guard.
"In the fall in Eastern North Carolina with the hunting and all, we thought it was just a marketable idea to raise money for the FFA," he said. "We don't allow guns in the school, only adults can win the raffle and they have to be approved."
Adults on the FFA advisory board picked the prizes, and the school bought the guns from a reputable dealer, said Hardison. He said winners must undergo background checks and meet other legal requirements.
Lisa Price, executive director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, said the school is the wrong venue for a gun raffle after the deadly school shootings.
"Given recent massacres in schools, I thought it would be really inappropriate for a school to be holding a gun raffle," she said. "I realize this is a rural community, and there's a lot of hunting, but it's still a school."
Price said she won't try stopping the raffle.
"We're not insensitive to gun violence; we're a school, too," Hardison said. "I don't understand what all the commotion is for. We weren't looking for this publicity."
------------------
Schmit, GySgt, USMC(Ret)
NRA Life, Lodge 1201-UOSSS
"Si vis Pacem Para Bellum"
